Kanban Training

Jack Vinson blogs about a recent Kanban training he attended, based on David Anderson's approach, which he also used in successful implementations at Microsoft.

New approaches that combine methodologies such as Theory of Constraints (TOC) and Kanban have also started to emerge, and some have started to use the Kanban approach to manage task flow and task priorities for both project and non project work.

I specially like the "visually oriented" approach that Kanban takes for task management, which has been common also in many Lean implementations.  It makes priorities easy to follow and visible for everyone involved, facilitating execution.

The "Palchinsky Principles"

Dave Snowden, of the Cynefin framework, derives three principles from Palchinsky, a Russian engineer from early 1900's, that wanted to bring a more humanitarian approach to the communist approach to engineering.

1. Are you actively in the market place to seek out new ideas and try new things?
2. Do you test these ideas on a scale that is survivable should they fail?
3. Do you seek feedback and learn from your mistakes as you go along?

The above line of thinking is compatible with "agile" or "iterative" improvement approaches, where you start scaling a change implementation one phase at a time. 

See the article by Dave Snowden here.  

Apple's Retail Success Is More Than Magic

Steve Denning writes about the differences between customer service at an Apple Store vs alternative tech stores.

http://onforb.es/yJTFxv

If you've walked into a Best Buy or Microsoft store, you immediately note the difference in service when compared to Apple stores.  It is how employees are recruited, trained and managed, that makes the experience totally different for consumers.

And of course, there's Zappos.

Developing People - Toyota's Constraint

In Theory of Constraints (TOC) and other continuous improvement methodologies, we talk of the importance of training and developing people to prepare them to understand and operate under a different 'paradigm', that most of the times will bring improved operational performance.

Toyota's CEO, Mr. Akio Toyoda, acknowledges that Toyota's constraint to growth during the last years was the lack of people trained in the Toyota Production System (TPS).  Their past focus on being the "#1 car manufacturer in the world" induced them to pursue goals that were beyond their current capacity.  

http://bit.ly/sH93UJ

Current sales figures have shown that what is currently limiting Toyota's growth is lack of sales, so they are probably at the right time to develop the next generation of leaders to sustain their future growth.  

The key lesson to this story is, in my opinion, that a company must assess correctly their real capacity, to know what commitments can be undertaken.

Taiichi Ohno: The Toyota Mindset Book Review Summary

Shmula provides a summary of the chapters in "The Toyota Mindset", by Yoshihito Wakamatsu, where the "Ten Commandments of Taiichi Ohno" are described.  It gives examples not only of the "what" but the "how to" implement many of the TPS tools..

http://bit.ly/stQ0FU

How Doctors Die

Dr. Ken Murray writes about how physicians die, and having the correct expectations when having a terminal disease.  

http://bit.ly/rW6ZZB

The choice of not undergoing treatment when its effectiveness is very low, and choosing to live your last days "in full" is probably easier to say than to do, and is probably a paradigm shift for many us.  It gives the word focus, as well, another totally different perspective.

Optimizers and Satisficers

Bob Sproull writes about the difference between being an optimizer and satisficer, terms that were originally defined by Herbert Simon, an american researcher. 

http://bit.ly/uyZ3EZ

An optimizer is a person that looks for the "perfect solution" and often suffers from "paralysis by analysis".   In contrast, a satisficer looks for a "good enough" solution and uses feedback to correct the course of action, similar to Boyd's OODA Loop.   

What kind of approach do you take in everyday life?